Modular Drone

Published on 19 May 2022. Written by Dineshkumar E

Drones are becoming more popular than ever due to their unimaginable applications and fascinating modifications. Along with their applications, the manufacturing cost of the drones also will increase. To overcome the above problem in this project idea, we are going to propose a solution. The best way to reduce the cost is by reducing the components used.

Modular drones are aerial vehicles which can be modified on the go. A single drone can be modified and used for various purposes. For example, you want the drone to capture high-quality videos - use an HD camera mod or you want to use the drone to convey information - fix the speaker mod or you want the drone to display something - attach the screen mod.

SLNOTE
Advantages of the modular drone:

Less cost
Multiple applications
Can be modified on the go

SLLATEST
What are all the modifications can be done?

Battery mod - This Addon increases the flight time of the drone by giving more power to the drone.
Display mod - A display is attached to the drone to show warnings or any other pieces of information
Night vision mod - This enables the drone to see in the dark and this addon also comes with a strobe light that helps the operator to control the drone during the night. Zenmuse XT is used as a night vision camera.
Speaker mod - Speaker mod is used to guide or to control the crowd. A speaker is fixed to the drone through which the information is transmitted.

Project Implementation

The drone is built on top of Quad configuration to reduce the complexity and to increase the efficiency. Drone frame should be designed in such a way that all the addons can be fixed easily. All up weight of the drone should be considered including the Add on components. For example, the heavyweight add on will be the battery mod or speaker mod. So by keeping that on mind the drone’s All up weight is calculated.

Approximately, the drones all up weight will be (2000+1000g) 3Kg. Choose the electronic components based on the All up weight of the drone. By considering the drone should take off at 50% of the throttle, 2:1 thrust to weight ratio is used. The thrust requirement of the drone is 6 kg. So each motor should produce at least 1.5 Kg of thrust.

Now do some research to find the right motor for the drone, EMAX MT3515 650KV Brushless motor produces the optimum thrust which fulfils our requirement.

13-inch propeller is coupled with the motor to produce the required thrust. Based on the current consumed by the motor ESC is selected. ESC (50A) is used to power the motor. 10000 mAh battery is used to power the drone as well as the other components. If more flight time is required the battery mod is fixed to the drone. Obstacle avoidance sensor is used to detect the obstacles around the drone up to 7 m. To downlink, the HD videos Light bridge video transmission system is used.

The modular drone will take the drone application to the next level as it expands the applications of the drone without increasing the cost.

SLDYK
Kit required to develop Modular Drone:

Technologies you will learn by working on Modular Drone:

Modular Drone

Any Questions?

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